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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28633968">Dusk</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowzone5/pseuds/snowzone5'>snowzone5</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Having sex is mentioned. A lot, Kissing, Mileven, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:47:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,730</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28633968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowzone5/pseuds/snowzone5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike is on his way to the mall. He is called over to the picnic table at the Sinclairs house. El catches his eye. Some strange stuff happens after.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. My Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dusk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s my favourite time of day. It can be the end of a perfect day or the end of a really bad one. But it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> time. I’m out of classes by then. I can laze around wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Feels naughty and I don’t do that all the time, but it’s nice to know I can do that during my time of the day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dusk today though, I’m spending it with my friends. I would much rather be at home, but they shamed me into sitting  on the picnic bench at Lucas’s house. Just sitting around talking and laughing. It was ok, I was with friends who genuinely cared for me, as I did them. I sat across from Lucas. Sitting beside him was his girlfriend Max, and beside her was Luca’s younger sister. Sitting beside me was Suzie and beside her was  her boyfriend Dustin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was twenty-two  years old and had ever kissed a guy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did that come out of the blue? That was on my mind every morning and every night. I loved being with my friends, but… they all had someone who loved them and I didn’t. They always sounded apologetic when they invited me out. I appreciated it. I really did because they always tried to include me in their activities, but I knew I was the fifth wheel. One day I jokingly said they should call me Five for fifth wheel, instead of Eleven. It didn’t take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suzie motioned to someone she saw walking by us. He noticed and started towards the picnic table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ok. How do I describe him? Let me give you an idea. Obvious first. He made me… tingly. That has not happened to me very often. I don’t think I’m  that  choosy  but most guys just don’t do it for me. This guy though. He had long corkscrew, jet black hair. Full lips, strong chin and nose. He could have been a model. He was a little on the skinny side, which  made him seem a little taller than he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What struck me the most were his eyes. Deep… dark… gentle. I could tell almost instantly he didn’t have a cruel bone in his body. He would die for his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What was I thinking? How they hell could I know that? Girls know. Most guys think the phrase “Woman's Intuition” is something we made up. Those guys are assholes. I don’t talk to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I  didn’t really hear what he and Suzie were talking about. It sounded like others were asking questions, but Suzie did most of the talking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, how can I describe this? We locked eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And something passed between us. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It </span>
  <em>
    <span>kept </span>
  </em>
  <span>on passing between us. I felt a bit woozy. I mean the guy was good looking but he was no… I was thinking... Brad Pitt. But this guy had a look all to himself. Maybe not so self-assured. I wanted his lips on me. Anywhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But  mostly I felt something  in my soul. He looked visibly shaken as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It must have been obvious to everyone, because they all looked back and forth between us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then I heard, “Um, ok, well I guess I’ll, um, get going. Nice to meet you.” It looked like he had to tear himself away from our presence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked away, I felt the pang of loss. The regretful feeling of a lost opportunity. Maybe this is what a breakup feels like? If I didn’t go after him I would lose him forever and never know what true love was. At least that’s the way it felt. There was a yearning there that wouldn’t go away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max just looked at me after watching the guy leave. She saw the look on my face. “Go after him El. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I've never felt the urge to  hurry like I did tonight. . It was almost a desperate feeling, like I couldn’t reach him fast enough, or if I did it would be too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something else I need to explain. I have slightly larger breasts than most girls.  Ok, I’m not Pam Anderson or anything. It was nice at first, especially when, for the longest time, I didn’t think I’d get </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> but I will tell you this. Big boobs and running are not compatible. They are the most unflattering thing you can see on a girl other than maybe camel toe. I mean, I wear tight jeans but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> tight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So I ran after him and caught him on the next street over. I didn’t know his name so I just called out, “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stopped, hesitated before he turned around. I can’t tell you what the look of relief on his face did for me. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>glad </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I walked up to him and said, “Ok, this is going to sound strange, but when...  we were… looking at each other did you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Feel like something passed between us?” He said nodding and smiling. “I thought it might have been just me. It felt strange… but good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was good to hear that. This unexplainable feeling that was felt for both of us. I made one of the more important decisions of my life right then.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I walked up to him, put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled myself up to kiss him. Parted lips, no tongue, but I have him a  wet kiss. He returned in kind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Best kiss of my life. My knees almost buckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I’m walking down the street, this pretty girl with stunning eyes comes up to me. We kiss. Probably the best kiss of my life. It was definitely my first one. Do I get to know the name of that girl?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is El Hopper, I’m twenty-two, I’ve never slept with anyone, I will not bear your children. Medical issues you don’t need to know right now. I keep this short pixie hairstyle on purpose. I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> grow it longer. You’ve undoubtedly noticed that my girls are pretty happy to see you  right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I said that because my nipples were hard. It’s not like I was going to take this guy home, but my body was responding to him. My bra was doing nothing to help, and the white blouse I was wearing, revealed almost everything I had to offer. For some reason I didn’t think to bring a sweater, it was a lot warmer earlier on today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was being polite. I’ve noticed them. Not to be glib, but I’m not as into breasts as most guys.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s what made me think I was in trouble. They had always been my foot in the door to at least talk to a guy. The disappointment must have shown on my face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Mike Wheeler, twenty-one, I don’t cut my hair. The wind is my hairstylist. You have great tits, but I’m much more into your ass. And if  that sounds like I’m a mouthbreather. I was just being honest. I’ve never slept with a girl… or a guy for that matter. So if we end up in the sack there will be lots of fumbling around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had to laugh. “I believe we got all the social awkwardness out of the way. I’m glad I have something to offer you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly his face got all serious. Like deadly serious. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> have something El. My heart is pounding… I don’t want to be without you. It’s like I finally found you. You... feel it too? …don’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sounded almost scared that I didn’t. I nodded. He must have seen the tears starting, he brought his thumbs up and wiped them away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok then.” He gave me a huge sigh. Like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> at peace. “I won’t be  alone.” A tear made its way down his cheek.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are not alone Mike. Not anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For me, that was it.  We were now a couple. Sure, there would be things we needed to figure out along the way, but we would figure them out together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We started walking beside each other. I asked him where he was going, and he told me he was going to the mall to  pick up a book. Maybe two, for reading on the weekend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm. That’s interesting” Mike said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He held up his right hand. My fingers  were interlaced with his. “When did that happen?” I said.  I don’t remember grabbing his hand at all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know. But I like it. It happened with a pretty girl who just happened to kiss me during my favourite time of day. It’s like the whole universe is realigning itself so we could be happy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He said </span>
  <em>
    <span>we.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That one word alone coming from him gave me butterflies. It was his favourite time of day? I didn’t even care if it was starting to get cool. Much cooler than it was the night before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re shivering.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we stop at my place so I can get a sweater… or jacket.” He nodded and we continued walking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I started to feel strange. I didn’t really want him to know where I lived. It was an apartment. All my friends at the picnic table didn’t know where I lived. I’d managed to keep the cabin a secret and my apartment building a secret.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stopped walking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t want me to know  where you live. Um, well I can continue to the mall, you can grab your sweater and catch up  with me at the bookstore. Does that work for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” I told him. Now I was having second thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked confused. “Um. Uh, um, ok, I’m um, not sure what to do next… I thought that… I mean I…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was at a loss for words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not you Mike. My home is my safe place. I have a few of them. Put it down to an insecure childhood?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wouldn’t look at me. “Um, ok. That’s ok. I’ll keep going… and if you want you can meet me there. If not then… um. Uh. um, that’s ok too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The disappointment in his voice was tearing me apart. He didn’t sound like he wanted to come up for a quickie, but he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>disappointed that I didn’t trust him enough to show him where I lived.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I let him walk on. It physically hurt me not to be near him. What was that about? I could live without a boyfriend. I’d never had one. But my heart was screaming at me. It was telling me I  couldn't live without my soulmate. That’s different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait… please.” I raised my voice so he could hear me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I ran up to him. My girls were  flopping all over the place even though I had  a really expensive sports bra on. Waste of money for me. Between the cold and my excitement my nipples were on display  for all to see.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> look at them. “Yeah you need a sweater. Those things are gonna be raw before we get there, even with a jacket.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “Would you be terribly disappointed if we didn’t go to the mall?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, be getting darker soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you like to stay with me tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was half shaking his head. “We can just talk El. Nothing else has to  happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But if it does?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled. “Fumbly time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Fumbling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I don’t mind telling you that I’m really nervous.” Mike said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because we are going to have sex?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am too. I mean, I want to make out with you, but I know where it’s going to lead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah I knew the talking option was going to be off the table if we made out in your apartment. Nice bachelor by the way. Good view of the sunset, or hmm,  still dusk… anyway that’s what I’m nervous about. I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at it. I’m terrified of being naked in front of you.  I think I’ll last five seconds…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t they call that performance anxiety?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s definitely performance anxiety for me. Um. I’m  uh, kind of skinny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mike, it’s ok. Let’s just take our clothes off and stare at each other for a few minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um… ok… this wasn’t exactly how  I expected my first time to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me either. Ok. How about this.” I unbuttoned my blouse and took it off. I looked at him. This time he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> looking at the girls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh... “</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s start with you kissing me, and then reaching around and unhooking my bra..”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He did as he was told. We were kissing and after a few minutes I pulled back and said, “You are forgetting to take my bra off. I want to make sure you have the full first time experience. I want to make sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> have it also.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I figured he would be distracted enough when kissing me that he’d be fumbling around with the clasp. I don’t think guys ever gain that knowledge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got it eventually and slowly pulled it from my arms. What can I say? I'm  proud of my breasts, they are high and firm, the nipples just slightly upturned. I don’t suffer from fibroids like other large breasted girls do. Maybe they weren’t quite big enough after all?  ...I didn’t know. I think they were for Mike because he couldn’t take his eyes off them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you weren’t a breast man?” I said teasing him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m conflicted… I... don’t know what to do now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I do.” I told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a slut.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Where is that coming from El?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m feeling pretty good at my favourite time of day, talking with my friends. I run after this guy  about three hours ago, I take  him home and screw his brains out...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All those events happened without any complaints from said guy. I’d like to think the brain screwing went both ways. We didn’t do anything that isn’t done in a normal healthy sexual relationship. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> forgetting one thing though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m still feeling this </span>
  <em>
    <span>connection</span>
  </em>
  <span> between us, I was kinda hoping you were feeling it too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do, Mike  I really do. It’s why I feel the need to be with you tonight.” I laughed. “You know I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> ok with talking all night. My tingly parts took over. Was I... this is embarrassing… was I ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was going to ask you the same thing. We didn’t really do as much fumbling as I thought we would.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a relief, I thought…  Mike? Are you ready… again?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No sooner did Mike say, “I think there’s a problem.” When my phone rang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was my dad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pack something for a long stay at the cabin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad… I’m… with someone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it  serious?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, have him or her pack stuff for a long stay also.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I was scared. It was still dusk. Something was going wrong. I didn’t know if it was going to be Upside Down related or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I watched Mike struggle with a large duffle bag, trying to get it into the back of my dad’s blazer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My dad went to help him to get us out of there faster. “Jeezuz kid, what have you got in here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This one has my work stuff and hobby stuff..”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This one?” My dad raised his eyebrow at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Next one is just as big but lighter, it has my clothes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Scientists know </span>
  </em>
  <span>what</span>
  <em>
    <span> is happening with the earth, but they are puzzled as to </span>
  </em>
  <span>why</span>
  <em>
    <span> it’s happening.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I got up and turned the TV off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good idea,” Mike said, “they are just going to speculate without coming up with anything people will understand anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We were sitting on the sofa watching TV in the cabin. “We should make out.” I said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So we did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike is a great kisser. He doesn’t try to lick the back of my throat, he doesn’t have his hands all over my breasts, or try to feel me up.  He puts all his attention into actually kissing me. I don't think other girls have had this kind of experience at all. The Gentleman Kisser.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I told him that, and he laughed. “I like kissing you… and being kissed. I mean if it gets hot and heavy we have an outlet, but we never have to start that way. And besides, you already screwed my brains out… remember?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m fully satisfied for tonight. Tomorrow morning, different story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few more minutes, I was starting to pant. “Ok, Gentleman Kissing time over. It’s ok to feel </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>me up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Good kisser. Check. Considerate and skilled lover. Check. Check. Check. Check, aaaand  Check.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I think that was all the checks. I lost count.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We were back on sofa. Mike asked me, “So you live in a bachelor apartment. What do you do to pay the rent?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Government compensation.” I left it at that. “I go to school, you know the Hawkins Lab was converted to a university. I’m working on my masters in English. Long story. No pun intended.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thesis?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to tell  you Mike, my dad knows… and… some other key people. It’s a tell all book about what happened to me in the first twelve years of my life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I watched Mike hang his head and say, “It’s not going to be an uplifting story is it?” He sounded so sad I burst into tears right away. I hate to see him sad. I was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> hate that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gathered me in a tight hug. He tried to take a lighter tone when he said, “You shouldn’t have any problem defending it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mike, it’s an uplifting story. Yes, very bad at the beginning. There are going to be lawsuits. Government inquiries, both </span>
  <em>
    <span>from </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>of</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s going to be bad for a lot of people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is why you are getting compensation isn’t it?” I nodded to MIke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is also why this cabin is your safe place.” I nodded again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, more of the things you said to me earlier are making sense. I won’t keep asking you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I told him. “Our relationship is only going to work if we are open and honest with each other. Ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, El. I’ll ask when I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sooo, MIke. what’s in the heavy bag. Spare girlfriend?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was not expecting the reaction I got. His eyes misted over. He pressed his lips together. I got the feeling he could barely speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He managed to croak out. “I have a girlfriend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes you do Mike. One who... .“  There was a half sigh, half hesitation on my part. “...loves you very much. Even after only a few slutty hours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We both broke out laughing. It was all good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I have a boyfriend!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For a science fair back in Middle school, I made a unique usable model using Mecanno. Uh, we call it  an Erector Set here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I giggled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly, that’s why I say  Mecanno. Anyway, it didn’t win the science fair, but there are always, um, ‘scouts’? For lack of a better word, who go to these things looking for talent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tada! My boyfriend has talent! What did you make?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A sextant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A sex what?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike laughed and pulled out a brass instrument out of the bag. “One of these, but with Mecanno parts and some others. It’s for navigation. The guy literally told me to get a mechanical engineering degree and get back to him. He gave me his card. Last year, I told him I got the degree. A month later this huge package comes in the mail addressed to me. It was multiples of every Mecanno part they made. They asked me to come up with new designs, models, that used as few parts as possible. They paid for a perpetual license for my Mecanno sextant. I made a stupid amount of money for just getting out of college. That’s what I work on, original designs and models with precise instructions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I think I looked at him like he was a god. When we first saw each other, I knew I wanted to be his. When we first kissed, I wanted him to be mine. I don’t like mouthbreathers, I didn’t even consider that he might be one. My heart must have known he wasn’t. He was intelligent. Smart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And my boyfriend! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I can’t get over that. We met late enough life that we can have sex anytime without sneaking around. We are both mature enough so that kid stuff is long out of the way, although I could tell that he was playful, he has a good sense of humour. I developed a sense of humour much later than most girls do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wasn’t just halfway happy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was all the way happy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Doubts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Oh, no.  Oh no oh no oh no oh no.” I was in trouble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the sex we  had I needed to shower, I   giggled to myself when I started soaping myself up. Maybe I should have  invited Mike to watch? Apparently guys were turned on seeing that kind of thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told him  that I  loved him. He didn’t say  it back.” What was I going to do? It’s only natural  that  it be said back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If it was true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Here I was washing myself with the intention of getting  into a tight  onesie and climbing all over him, when now… Did he just say all that to have sex with me? A lot of sex as it turned out.. Does this give him bragging rights with his friends or something? I couldn’t fall apart in the bathroom, or even in front of him. Should I tell him to leave?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One thing was for sure, I wasn’t putting on a tight onesie, it would be one of my loose baggy ones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I dried off, got into the onesie and went back out to the fireplace that Mike had going. He was pacing back and forth a bit nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took one look at me and said, “I knew it. I can tell by the look on your  face.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I’m not very good at hiding my emotions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was so overwhelmed with the realization that I had a girlfriend. One who loves me.  I forgot to tell her that I loved her too. My soul is yours El. I promise.  Just in these few hours, I’ve come to love you more than I thought possible. I’m so scared right now of losing you… for any reason… I was just overwhelmed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I shook my head. “You won’t lose me. I’m scared of losing you too Mike. This feeling we have for each other is  a lot for us to get our hearts around. Our souls already did.” We smiled at each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He came up to me and put his hands around my waist and gave me a soft kiss. Not the hungry kisses of earlier, this kiss was his promise. For me it was the best way he could have delivered his promise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mike, I don’t think my dad knows how… </span>
  <em>
    <span>new </span>
  </em>
  <span> you are in my life. He’ll be ok with it, but let’s not… encourage his curiosity?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s a cop El. He’s going to figure it out if he hasn’t already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you need to be at sea to use  one of those sexy things?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike  laughed, “Sextant, if you think they are sexy, I guess I know a new way to turn you on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I smirked at him</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike took out what looked like a coloured glass cube cut in half diagonally. “I’m going to take some measurements over a period of a  few hours. I have a theory.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that?” I asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, good question. You can use a sextant on land, but you need a real horizon to work with. Tough to do. Especially where we are now. So  you need an artificial horizon. You can use a bowl of water, or one of these. This is an artificial horizon specifically designed to use a sextant on land.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t  you have to be travelling? Like on a ship?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> traveling. Measurements I take will give me some kind of idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We went outside, he looked through the little telescope thing on the sexy instrument, Mike asked me to write some things down. We were starting to get chilly, so we went back inside in front of the fire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I curled up against him. “I hog the blankets. I sleep in this and I hog the blankets.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Noted. If I get cold I’ll just snuggle up against you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll make sure I always hog them.” I was getting all giggly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It is hard to describe the feeling of a new relationship. For us there wasn’t a long “thrill of the chase”, or awkward social talk as we skirted around the issue of liking each other, or in our case, of being soulmates. We didn’t even do that much physical fumbling when it came to sex. It was all natural and fun. What I was feeling was the growing comfort of being with a life partner. Sure, it seemed like the world outside was having a big problem. But I knew that neither of us would have to face it alone. Even if it turned out to be cataclysmic, we would be together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You can’t describe that to anyone. They have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If what I think is happening, is actually happening. We need to prepare. It’s fall, but we need to prepare for a very cold winter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate being cold.” I told him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This will be colder than you’ve ever felt. But we can prepare.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, kid. Explain it to me in English this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike had  tried to tell  my dad that the earth was rotating in the wrong direction, just enough to move Hawkins towards where the south pole would be, but still keep a constant dusk  going. He said a lot of numbers but eventually used the globe in my bedroom as an example. He told me to use my face as the sun, I gave him my prettiest smile and my dad just kept rolling his eyes. We rotated the globe so that my dad could see what was happening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hawkins is going to be the new south pole. Weather patterns will be disrupted for years. I expect we will go from extreme high temperatures. Up to one-hundred-fifty degrees, to minus seventy. I would get a portable air conditioner for the cabin. Get a ton of wood for the fireplace. Don’t take down any trees, they provide a natural barrier for… everything. If I had to guess, you won’t hear this news on TV or  radio because they don’t want the entire world to panic. Let’s get supplies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That plain English Mike was using scared the shit out of me. I think my dad too. He looked at me. I know what he was thinking: He wanted to protect his little girl. I looked at his gun and Mike saw me looking at that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you load your gun Chief?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Usually, I use bullets.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike laughed. “Ok, maybe I asked for that one. Do you put in one bullet at a time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want me to use a speed loader. Ok. I guess what I want to know is why does my daughter’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> new boyfriend know so much about firearms?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I played a lot of  RPG’s as a kid. It’s one of the things you get to know. I know about swords and knives too. You are going to want any advantage you can get. Ordinary people can be animals when they are desperate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike looked at me, “Don’t worry El. I’ve lived in Hawkins my whole life. I didn’t know about this place. I’m guessing most people don’t other than us three.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keep it that way kid.” My dad said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’m going to be cold tonight.” I told Mike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why? It’s not that cold outside yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m taking off my onesie and going to bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you take off… oh… you want me to join you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I shrugged and winked.  “Up to you how you decide to keep our girlfriend warm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike figured it out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Hot and Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>We must have made dozens and dozens of trips to the cabin. We added layers of insulation to the cabin, extra clothes, we got two generators, for air conditioning. It was freezing when we installed those. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My dad couldn’t afford all that. Mike paid for it all. He must have had a lot more money than I thought he did. I heard it was every girl’s dream to marry a rich guy. Not mine. I just wanted someone who loved me. I guess I’m lucky to get both?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except for the marrying part. I don’t know if we ever will with the news on TV being the voice of doom for everyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What we’ll do when or if the snow starts, we’ll create a barrier all around the cabin. Pile snow as high as we can get it.  Between the natural shelter of the trees and the snow pile, wind will over over the house and not suck the heat out. We are layered up pretty good with the insulation, so I think we are ok there. I’ll never figure out how the two of you got all that stuff up here when I was busy. Even if you made a ton of trips, it’s way too heavy to lug over rough ground like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My dad gave me a quick look and I gave him the slightest of head shakes. Mike didn’t know that I had done all the heavy lifting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I think it took us an entire month.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t it be getting colder by now?” My dad asked Mike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hawkins position was moving straight down. Weather patterns may take years for any kind of climate to form again. When it happens though, it’s going to be very very cold. This country will be the new Antarctica. That’s the least of the problems.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, I’m gonna ask you again, how do you know all this shit?” My dad wasn’t one for watching what he said in front of me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My minor was geopolitics. Antarctica isn’t owned by anyone. All countries are free to research. What happens when America is the new Antartica? I don’t think we are going to give it up so easily. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>old</span>
  </em>
  <span> Antarctica will be up for grabs. But… I’m sure all the countries will figure it out peacefully.” Mike snorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mike was more nervous than he usually was. We were getting ready for bed. He almost couldn’t even look at me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong Mike? Are you more worried about all this than you’ve been telling me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I went numb and cold. I knew I was going to be really sad for a long time. It’s a feeling I’m used to. I spent most of the first twelve years of my life being sad. Extremely sad. Numb. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had no idea what to say to him. My life was over. My soul would die a slow agonizing death… I would probably follow not long afterwards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took my hand and slipped a ring on my finger. “I want you to be my wife.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When my dad came by the next  morning I couldn't keep the grin off my face. I showed him the ring Mike and put on me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike was looking sheepish when I said, “Can you drive  us to the country clerk’s?  We want to register and get married as soon as possible. You can… you can give me away?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I hugged his middle and he kissed the top of my head. It was a ritual we had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, honey, but first, he knows that there’s no kids right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was one of the first things I said to him. You know he’s standing right behind me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sorry Mike. Honey does he know about the… other thing? He has to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What other… oh… that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I grabbed Mike’s hand and dragged him back into the bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I held up my hand and took my ring off. Mike gave me a sad frown, “Only for a demonstration Mike, it’s going back on and </span>
  <em>
    <span>staying </span>
  </em>
  <span>back on. Hold out your hand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He did and I put the ring in his hand, his frown deepened, “Sweetie, I’m going to put it back on. Close your hand around it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike did. “Feel anything?” I asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes opened wide and he opened his hand. The ring  rose out of his hand, floated over to my finger and settled back into its rightful place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked a few times. “I didn’t think that  was even real outside of comic books. It explains how you two got that heavy stuff back here by yourselves. Do you have a limit on how heavy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can move a train car. Not on tracks, sideways.” His eyes opened really wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here I thought I’d have to get a gun to protect you. It’s the other way around isn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. Sorry Mike.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Smart. Pretty. Sexy. Telekinetic. I seem to be very ok with that. Ok, let’s go get married.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We came out of the bedroom. “That was quick,” my dad said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why they call them quickies.” He just rolled his eyes when I said that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXXXX</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I think it was the hardest thing my dad has ever had to do. This is over punching criminals out, getting shot at, drugged, threatened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of that was nothing compared to giving me away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We would ride  out the coming storm, whatever form it took. We’d be safe in the cabin. At least for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually we’d have to move north, but that was going to be a few years away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Until then, I’d be happy with Mike, my lover, my  husband, and more importantly my  soulmate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>[ The above text is an excerpt  from the Docu-book, “The Lab: The Breakdown of Government Protection in Modern America”, by Jane “Eleven” Wheeler.]</span>
</p>
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